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England boss Gareth Southgate backs Sportsmail’s calls for greater research into links between football and dementia as he reveals he played on with concussion ‘several times’
- Gareth Southgate backed Sportsmail’s research calls into football and dementia
- He admitted there should be more scrutiny into establishing links between two
- Football has faced calls to restrict heading until the links are fully established
England manager Gareth Southgate has supported Sportsmail’s calls for greater research into the worrying links between football and dementia.
Speaking on the day Sportsmail launched our campaign to tackle football’s dementia scandal, Southgate admitted there should be increased scrutiny into establishing the links between the national sport and the disease.
‘We have got to continue with the research,’ said Southgate. ‘I think in terms of what is happening, research is continuing and I know that the initial (FA) study threw up certain observations and there is a desire to look at other groups who have played in the past, and get a better understanding of the initial studies.
Gareth Southgate backs calls for greater research into links between football and dementia
‘The frustration for everybody is that it isn’t quite clear at the moment so we have to keep investigating.’
One of the key areas of study revolves around heading. Football has faced calls to restrict it until the links with dementia are fully established.
Football has faced calls to restrict heading until the links with dementia are fully established
Children under the age of 12 are banned from heading balls in training in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Southgate, who said last week he fears succumbing to dementia in later life, has also admitted that he played on with concussion on more than one occasion during his career. But the England boss intimated he would not change his playing career despite health fears.
‘There were several times when I played on with concussion and that just wouldn’t be allowed now, and rightly so,’ Southgate added. ‘There are risks playing the sport. I think every player accepts that and I don’t think any of them would swap.
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